Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1887-05-07

we wero driven TO covering ourselves with
blankets, head and all, and sitting TO slowly
stew and continually scratch and swear be-
meath them. And as we sat, suddenly rolling
out like thunder through the silence came tho
deep roar af lion, and then Of a second lion,
moving among the reeds within fifty yards OF
u.s.
u say, said Leo sticking his head out from
under his blanket, "lucky we amt on the
bank, ell, Auncularp LEO sometimes adj
dressed me in shs disrespectful way.) "Curse
i'll mosquito has bitten me on tho nose, and
the head vanished again.
Shortly after this the moon came up, and
notwithstanding every variety of roar that
echoed over the water TO us from the lions on
the bank VIC began, thinking ourselves per-
fectly secure, to dozo Off.
don't quite know what IL was that made
me poke my head out OF the friendly shelter
OF the blanket-perhaps because found that
the mosquitoes were biting right through It,
Anyhow as l did so heard job whisper, in
frightened voice. "Oh, my stars look thereW
Instantly we all Of us looked, and this was
what we saw in the moonlight. Near the
shore were two widc and ever widening circles
Of concentric rings ripping away across the
surface of the water, and in tho heart and
center Of the circles were two dark moving
objects
"What is itg" asked I.
'It is those damned lions, sir" answered
Job, in tone which was an odd mixture OF
sense of personal injury, habitual respect and
acknowledged fear land they are swimming
here to heat u.s." he added, nervously picking
up an "h" in his agitation. / looked again;
there was no doubt about it; could catch
the glare of their ferocious eyes. Attracted
either by the smell of the newly killed water
buck meat or of ourselves, the hungry beasts
were actually storning our position.
Leo already Ind his rifle in his hand.
| shouted to him to wait till they were nearer,
and meanwhile grabbed my own. Some ff-
teen feet from us the water Swallowed on a
bank to depth of about fifteen inches and
presently the first Of them-it was the lioness
got on to it, and shook herself and roared.
AT that moment Leo fired, and the bullet
went right down her open mouth and out at
the back Of her neck, and down she dropped
with splash dead. Tho second hon-a full
crown male--was some two PAGES behind her.
At this second he got his fore paw on to the
! bank, when strange thing happened. There
| was rush and disturbance Of the water sucf
as one sees in pond In England when pike
takes little fish, only thousand time
llercer and larger, and suddenly the lion gave
| most terrific snarling roar, and sprung for
ward on to the bank, dragging something
black with him.
q "Allahl" shouted Mahomed. "a crocodile
has got him by the leg" And sure enough h
g bad We could see the long snout with 1t
| cleaning lines Of teeth and the reptile bod,
behind it.
] And then followed a scene that absolutel.
4 battles description The lion managed to Sc
S well on to the bank, the crocodile, half stand
o ing and half swimming, still nipping his him
: leg. He roared till the dir quivered with th
i. sound, and then, with O savage, shriekin
+ snarl, turned round and clawed hold OF th
u crocodle's head Tho crocodile shifted hi
. grip, having, as we afterward discovered, ha
q one of his eyes torn out, and turned slight
: over, and instantly the lion got him by th
i throat and held on, and then over and owe
II | they rolled upon tho bank, struggling hide
e ously twas impossible tot follow their move
&c ments, but when next we got a clear view tn
Il tables had turned; for the crocodile, who's
II head seemed to be mass Of gore, had got I'll
lions body in his iron jaws just above I'll
c hips, and was squeezing him and shaking hi
II to and fro For his part the tortured brut
Y roaring in agony, was clawing and bitin
c madly at his onemy's scaly head, and fxin
, his great hind claws in the crocodile's con
o paratively speaking, soft throat, ripping
.. open as one would rip glove.
> Then all of a sudden the end came, tt
81 lions head fell forward on the crocodile
4, back, and with an awful groan he died; an
IL the crocodile, after standing for minu
W motionlcss, slowly rolled over on to his sid
ie his jaws still fixed across the carcass of Il
,i lion, which we afterward found he had bite
10 almost in half.
II This duel to the death was wonderful al
c. a shocking sight, and ono that l suppose fe
ST men have seen, and thus it ended.
r. When it was all over, leaving Mahomed
o. keep look out, we managed to spend Il
nc rest of the night as quietly as the mosquito
h. would let us -
st ITO be Coz tnued.l